Electric switch.



E. A. HALBLEIB. ELECTRIC SWITCH. APPLIOATION FILED Nov. 29,'1912.

1,082,694. Patented Dec. 30, 41913.

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vide the switch with contact-members so electric syst-em, each plug'entre erre AENT omnes.

EDWARD A. IjALBLEIB, 0F ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO NORTH EASTELECTRIC COMPANY, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK. i

ELECTRIC SWITCH.

Specification of I .etters Patent. Application led November 29, .1912.

i ,O82,694l. Patented Dec. 30, 19,13.

Serial No. 734,140.

ever, instead of being provided with partitions and-bearing-member's asin said patent, 'consists of a simple sheet-metal member ofgenerallyrectangular a single piece of sheet-metal. This casingco'mprises aV fla-t front 7, iiat end-Walls 8 and 9, and flat upper andlower walls 10 and ll,` respectively. Around the entire periphery of thecasing it is provided with a flange, having an outwardlyextendingportion 12 and a rearwardly-extending portion 13. This flange or seatadapted to engage the margin of base-plate 6, and the iia'nge is drawn'c osely against the base-plate by means of bolts 14 passing through thecasing and the base-plate and fixed by nuts 15. These bolts are alsoprovided with threaded sions 16 and nuts 17, by may be secured to adash-board or other surface.

'The switch-plugs, of which four are shownin the drawings, are arrangedto slide vertically through alining perforations in the upper and lowerwalls 10 and 1l of the cas` ing. Each plug has a central metal rod 1Sprovided with buttons or heads '19 and 2O on its upper and lower end,respectively. Near its upper'portion each plug is provided with abushing 21 of insulating-material, while below this bushing, andinsulated from the rod 18, is a metal sleeve l22, constituting acontact-piece or conductor.

l1is'contactpiece is insulated, -`at its lower end, by a bushing` 23,and below this bushing is a metal portion 25 provided with upper a ndlower respectively. v shoulders or abutments, with the locking-plate.v

The locking-plate 28 consists ofan elongated sheet-metal member arrangedhorizontally a short distance above the lower wall 11 of the casing.Each plug ,an opening 29 in the locking-plate, and these openino's, asshown in Fig; 2, are of a substantiallyhey-hole shape, so that in oneposition of the. plate each plug may pass freely through thecorresponding opening, while in the other position of the plate, asshown in Fig. 2, the plug is locked against longitudinal movement by the`engagement of its locking-abutments with the upper and lower vsurfaceof the plate adjacent the nar- IoW end ofthe opening 29.

To all 't0/tom it may concern.' y

Be it known that l, EDWARD A. HALBLEIB, a citizen of the United States,and resident-l of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ElectricSwitches, of which the following is a speciication.

. This invention relatesyto electric switches, of the type disclosed inthe patent granted to me No. 1,010,753, dated December 5, 1911, in whicha series of switch-plugs are longitudinally movable through the walls ofa casing, the casing inclosing contact-devices, coperating with theplugs, and lockingmechanism for locking the plugs in either their up 3eror lower positions.

@ne o ject of the present invention is to simplify the construction andfacilitate the manufacture of switches of the type in question, andparticularly to avoid the necessity of partitions or bearing-members inthe casing to support the locking-plate which -coperates with theplugs.To this end T so form the locking-plate itself as to providebearing-members, which engage the inner surfaces of the walls ofthecasiug, and thus guide and support the locking-plate, andalso stiftenit longitudinally.

Another object of the invention is to proconstructed and arranged thatthe switch may be used conveniently in a` three-wire being adapted tosimultaneously connect or disconnect three fixed contact-members. Tothis end I employ the form and arrangement of contactdevices hereinafterdescribed.

In the accompanying drawings :-Figure 1 is a front-elevation of a`switch embodying` the present invention', with the front-portion of thecasing broken away to show the interior mechanism; Fig 2 is a section,lool:- ing downwardly, on the line 2-2 in Fig. 1; Fic'. 3 is a` sectionon the line 3-3 in Fig. 1, loollring from left to right; and Fig. ais asection on .the line Akt in Fig. 1, looking from right to left..

In general construction and arrangement the switch illustrated in thedrawings is similar to that of my said patent. It is provided with abase plate 'of insulating material, which may be fastened against thesurface upon which the switch is to bel mounted. The casing of theswitch, howhese slots provide lockingwhich coperate form, drawn fromrear-extenwhich the switch.

annular slots 26 and 27,.

passes through position within the Vplate longitudinally and support itagainst to receive the shank of a key 40. The wards on the locking-plateand torce the plate to hold the locking-plate in unlocked position.

Q noeaeea To support the locking-plate in operative easing, and to guideit in and restrict it to longitudinal horizontal either raised orlowered position the con tact-sleeves 22 are provided with grooves toengage the convex en s of the contactsprings, and the bushings 21 aresimilarly grooved. ln order that the switch may be used, as abovestated,'in a three-wire system, a second pair of contact-springs 52 isarranged to coperatevwith each plug. The springs 52 are constantlyin-engagement with ya smooth cylindrical portion ot1 the contactsleeve22, whether the plug be in its upper or lower position. All of thesprings 52 except those cooperating with the extreme right-hand plug,are connected with a coinmon conductor or bus-bar 51 at the back ot thebase-plate, and this bus-bar may be connected, by means of a terminal53, with the neutral conductor of the three-wire system. Accordingly,when any one of the plugs is raised it not only connects the conductorsattached, respectively, to the springs 45, but it also connects both ofthese conductors with the neutral conductor, both branches of athree-wire circuit may be simultaneously connected withor disconnectedfrom the neutral conductor and each other.

The right-hand switch-plug, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, .is not grooved,as this plug is designed Jfor temporary use to convey a heavy current,as, for example, in throwing an electric starting-apparatus intooperation, and in the case of this plug both upper contact-springs maybe connected to one conductor, and both lower contactsprings to anotherconductor, in the manner shown in Fig. 2.

The novel form of the locking-plate above described permits the use ofthe simple and inexpensive form of sheet -metal casing shown in thedrawings, and thus simplies the switch and reduces the expense of itsconstruction, while permitting its metal parts to be made almostentirely ot pressed or stamped sheet-metal.

lt will be understood tainparts of. the switch claims, in the spatialthe drawings, this movements, the plate is provided with Alateraldownwardly-extending flanges 30 which have bearing-extensions 31 attheirends which rest upon the lower wall 11 of the casing. The flanges 30serve to stiften the pressure exerted manually upon the switchplugs whenthey are locked -in position. To prevent he locking-plate Jfromrising-with the plugs it has upwardly-bent extremities 32 and 33, whichproject into engagement with the upper wall 10 ot the casing. Theseprojections are laterally extended at points 34, so as to engage thefront wall 7, and Jthe base-plate 6, and thus support the locking platelaterally. By its engagement with the casing-walls and the base-plate,as just described, the locking-'plate is restrained to ,longitudinalhorizontal movement, and the projections 32 and 33 also cooperate withthe means for so moving the locking-plate. The projection 33 is engagedby a spring 35 which normally holds the locking-plate in its left-handoroperative position. In this position the projection 32 rests against aU-shaped member 38, which is fastened within the lefthand end .of thecasing by means of screws 37 passing through the. 4lower wall 1l andthreaded into a block 36 which lies within the member 38. vThe member 3Sand the front-wall 7 of the casing are provided with alining key-holesand with a rotatable cleft sleeve 39 adapted 41 of the key enter avertical slot 42 in the block 36, and cooperate with wards 43 alsoformed in the block. When the key is inserted and is given athree-quarter turn to the right its wards engage the projection 32 theright, against the opposition of the spring 35, thus unlocking theswitch-plugs. The rotation of the key is arrested by engagement with aflange 44 on the block 36, in a position in which it may be'left to thatalthough cerare defined, in the relation illustrated in description issimply for Coperating with each switch-plug is a the sake of settingforth their relative arpair of contact-springs 45, each ot theserangement, as the switch may obviously be Springs being supported by asupplemental used in various other positions without spring 46. Thesesprings are clamped in change in its'const-ruction and mode of 0pshallowslots inthe base-plate 6, by the heads 47 of studs 48 which pass throughthe base-plate Aand through binding-posts 49, 'so as to connect thesprings electrically with terminals 50 adapted to vreceive electricconductors. 1vVhen the plugs are in depressed position thecontact-springs 45 of each pair engage one of the insulating-bushings21, but whenfany one of the 'plugs is raised the correspondingcontact-springs engage the contact sleeve. 22 and are thus, electricallyconnected. To retain the plugs in eration.

,1. An electric switch having, in' combination, a casing provided withparallel upper and lower walls; a series of'switch-plugs movablevertically ythrough said walls and having locking-abutments; andlockingmechanisms for the plugs comprising a locking-plate havingabutmentscoperating with the abutments on t-he plugsthe locking-platebeing provided withlateral flanges, projecting into engagement with onewall 'oit and in this way y allel upper and lower walls, said wallshaving 'alining perforations; a series of switchplugs movable verticallythrough said perforations and provided wit-h locking-abutments; alocking-plate cooperating with said locking-abutments and provided withupward and downward projections, near its ends, which engage the upperand lower wa'lls of the casing so as to guide the plate for horizontalmovement within the casing; contact devices cooperating with the plugsand located between the locking-plate and one wall of the casing; andmeans for moving the locking-plate, said means engaging one of aidprojections thereon.

3. An electric switch having, in combination, a casing provided withparallel upper and lower walls; a seriesof switch-plugs movablevertically through said walls and having locking-abutments near theirlower` ends; a locking-plate coperating with said abutments andlocatednear t-he lower wall of the casing, flanges which stiften-theplate longitudinally and extend, near their ends into engagement withthe lower wall of the casing,

said plate having lateral and upwardly-bent extremities which engage theupper wall, the front wall, and the rear wall of the casing, the platebeing guided by said flanges and extremities to move horizontallylin thecasing; means for so moving the plate to lock and unlock the plugs; andcontact-devices coperating with the plugs and located within the vcasingabove the locking-plate.

4.- An electric switch having, in combination, a casing provided withupper and lower walls; -a plurality of switch-plugs movable verticallythrough said walls and each provided with an elongatedconducting-sleeve; two contact-.members coperating with eachswitch-plug, said members being insulated from each other and providedwith separate terminals; and a third set of contact-members, which areinsulated from the firstmentioned contact-members and constantlyengagingfthe respective contact-sleeves, and are' interconnected andprovided with a common terminal; the three contact-mem- 'bers at eachswitch-plug being simultaneously interconnected by the contact-sleevewhen the switch-plug is moved to cause the contact-sleeve to engage thefirst-mentioned contact-members.

EDVARD A. HALBLEIB. Witnesses: v

y THOMAS L. LEE,

D. GURNEE.

